Colts QB Rivers, 39, retires from NFL after 17 seasons
INDIANAPOLIS — When Philip Rivers first started tossing footballs as a high-school ball boy, he heaved them any way he could. The throwing motion stuck — and success soon followed.
Rivers used that strange, shot putlike style to land a college scholarship, become a first-round draft pick and eventually string together one of the greatest 17-year careers in NFL history. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old Indianapolis Colts quarterback announced his retirement.
“Every year, Jan. 20 is a special and emotional day,” Rivers said in a statement posted on the team's website. “It is St. Sebastian's Feast day, the day I played in the AFC championship without an ACL, and now the day that after 17 seasons, I'm announcing my retirement from the National Football League. Thank you God for allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL. I am grateful to the Chargers for 16 seasons, and the Colts for the 17th season.”
Rivers was one of a kind. Between his trademark throwing style and his penchant for trash-talking without cussing, he carved out his own niche in the NFL. There's no doubt Rivers could sling it. When he threw for 401 yards and five touchdowns in his second college game, then-indiana Hoosiers coach and future NFL head coach Cam Cameron proclaimed that the North Carolina State freshman had a future in the NFL.
Lions agree to terms with Saints’ Campbell to be coach
The Detroit Lions have landed the coach they coveted from the start of their search, agreeing to terms with Dan Campbell.
The Lions announced the agreement with the New Orleans Saints tight ends coach on Wednesday, one day after formally introducing Brad Holmes as their general manager. Campbell will sign a six-year contract, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not released.
“With more than 20 years of experience as both a coach and player in the National Football League, Dan knows the rigors of professional football and what it takes to be successful,” team owner Sheila Ford Hamp said in a statement.
“He will help promote the culture we want to establish across our organization, while also bringing with him high energy, a respect for the game and an identity with which everyone can align themselves.”
While Detroit did make Holmes one of four Black general managers in the NFL and team president Rod Wood thanked Rod Graves of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which champions diversity in the NFL, for his assistance on Tuesday, the franchise followed a league-wide trend of hiring white head coaches.
The Lions were one of seven teams looking for a head coach during this hiring cycle and so far only the New York Jets did not pick a white man. The Jets hired Robert Saleh, the son of Lebanese parents.
Thomas to go on training program after anti-gay slur
Justin Thomas intends to go through an individual training program to “become a better person” after he was picked up uttering a homophobic slur under his breath when he missed a putt at a tournament in Hawaii this month.
Clothing brand Ralph Lauren ended its long-time sponsorship with Thomas following the incident two weeks ago, which the No. 3-ranked American golfer described as “humiliating and embarrassing and it's not me.”
Thomas has spoken to his other sponsors – Titleist, Footjoy and global bank Citi are among those listed on his official website – and hopes they will stand by him as he looks to educate himself and restore his reputation.
“It's not a word I use,” Thomas said Wednesday, referring to the slur he blurted out when missing a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole of Sentry Tournament of Champions, “but for some reason it was in there and that's what I'm trying to figure out – why it was in there.
“And like I said, it's going to be part of this process and training program, whatever I need to do, not only to prove to myself but to prove to my sponsors and prove to the people who don't know who I am that that is indeed not the person I am.”
— Wire services